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Sunday, May 17, 2015

The Perfect Brownie + Star Wars Marathon!

A few days ago in an apartment not so far away...

STAR WARS-ATHON

EPISODE 3: RETURN OF THE MARATHON

This past Saturday I had some friends over for a Star Wars marathon. This is the third year I've hosted a Star Wars marathon party. It has become something of a tradition now. Usually I hold it around National Star Wars Day (that's May the 4th for you non-Star Wars enthusiasts) but we had a few conflicts that weekend so it was pushed back.

What does this party entail? Delicious Star Wars-themed food and drinks, and, of course, hours exploring a galaxy far, far away with some of my favorite people. Over the years I've scoured the web for some inspiration on the food, and have come across really cool ideas. In the past I've done Jabba frog gutts (guac and chips), Han Solo frozen in carbonite (a Han Solo action figure trapped in jello), spicy Yoda ears (seasoned edamame) and lightsaber pretzel sticks (chocolate-covered pretzel sticks). This year I decided to cut down on the amount of food, as I always end up with too much in the way of leftovers.

Pit of Carkoon Bundt Cake - A spice bundt cake iced and covered with graham cracker crumbs, with a chocolate-covered strawberry and chocolate-covered gummy worms to make it looks like the Sarlacc from Return of the Jedi. Check out the recipe here.

Tauntaun Gutts - Delicious baked pasta made by my good friends Julia.

Boba Brownies - AKA Bouch Brownies. The most gooey delicious brownies you will ever nom. More on these later in this post.

The party was a success! Everyone had a great time. Nothing beats a day of Star Wars binge-watching. We went through A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. No time wasted on the prequels this time around. We did talk about doing machete order next time, though.

Oh, are you admiring my Star Wars Montage leggings? These beauties are from Black Milk Clothing. Nerd girls, if you haven't checked out this shop, get on that ASAP. My FAVORITE store for all fangirl fashions. I have several pairs of their leggings (Mass Effect, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones) and a Boba Fett dress.

Speaking of the Fett, about those Boba Brownies...I had to make my famous brownies for the party. A family recipe. Growing up, my mother always made the BEST brownies. She used packaged mix, but always knew how to enhance the it to make these better than your average brownie made from a mix. The secret? She used mix with chocolate chops included, and then added MORE chocolate chips. Of course, I learned from the best. :)

And then something happened I never thought possible. We made her brownies even better! I remember when it happened. I was in high school. We were making brownies for our Super Bowl party. We had a few packages of Ghirardelli brownie mix and she said "hey, why don't we try making these with both packages and then adding more chocolate?" More chocolate? Well that sounded like a great idea to me.

And that, good people, is how the perfect brownie was born. A brownie that my friends have lovingly come to refer to as the Bouch Brownie. Seriously, folks. I have people cry foul when I don't make these for parties. I had to make some and ship them to a good friend in California because he was going through withdrawals after he moved out there (no, they don't have weed in them).

A word of warning: Once you try these, all other brownies made from a mix will seem inferior to you. Prepare to be spoiled forever!